Presidential Candidate: Doug Burgum

July 15, 2023 |

Doug Burgum Campaign Website: Doug Burgum for America | Home

By Ashley Bean Thornton

I have been summarizing the opening campaign speeches from the presidential candidates to see if I can sift out what they actually plan to do.  In this post I summarize Doug Burgum’s announcement speech.   I have shortened, rearranged, and paraphrased quite a bit, but I tried to stick pretty close to his own words and to be fair in summarizing what I assume to be his platform for 2024. I tried to include as much about how he plans to do these things as I was able to deduce from the speech. – ABT

Here are the links I used:

Here is the link to the page where I compare these speeches by topic – Candidate Comparison – Dead Armadillo Politics (deaddillo.com)

What he says he has done…as Governor of North Dakota

  • Cut 1.7 billion dollars in spending our first year in office (Out of a 6 billion dollar budget)
  • Working with other Statewide electeds and the legislature, we balanced the budget every year
  • Bolstered cybersecurity
  • Brought life back to our main streets
  • Made record investments in education
  • Strengthened tribal relations
  • Built infrastructure
  • Unleashed energy production
  • Diversified the economy
  • North Dakota is both growing and getting younger, one of the only States that’s doing that
  • We have the third lowest unemployment in the country and the highest Workforce participation in the nation
  • Working with the legislature, we achieved historic pension reform that had been three decades in the making
  • Enacted the biggest tax cut in State history

What he says he will do…

Abortion – I think legislation about abortion is absolutely something that should fall to the states. The Dobbs decision made that clear, that this was a decision for the states, and that’s where I think that decision should be made.

China – We’re facing a very real threat from China. Joe Biden’s green new deal policies?  They’re only going to shift our dependence from OPEC to Sino-Pec. That makes no sense. When we’re truly energy independent, and we’re supporting our allies, that’s when we stabilize the globe and restore America as a leader of the Free World.

Culture – If you want more smalltown common sense in government and big cities, we’ll make that happen.

Economy – Innovation, that’s always been the driver of America.  Innovation over regulation. Innovation over regulation is how you solve the challenges we face today.  Regulation looks backwards.  Innovation looks towards the future.  When I was in high school we were told two things were absolutely certain about our future: the world is going to run out of food, and the world is going to run out of energy. However today we live in a world of abundance because of American innovation. Innovation has paved the way for a better life for all Americans. The potential and the possibility of the coming breakthroughs in software, and biotech, and energy, and healthcare can continue this trend but due to over regulation that brighter future for Americans is now at risk.  Let’s get back to common sense. Let’s eliminate red tape, get inflation under control, cut taxes, reduce the cost of living, and help every American realize their fullest potential.

Energy – We need to stop buying energy from our enemies and start selling energy to our friends and allies. America produces energy cleaner and safer than anywhere else in the world. If you care about the global environment, you should be fighting to have every drop of energy produced in the United States.  And when we’re truly energy independent, and we’re supporting our allies, that’s when we stabilize the globe and restore America as a leader of the Free World. Putin only dared to invade Ukraine because our allies in Western Europe were all dependent on Russian energy.

Renewable Energy – I just think there’s a big opportunity in the future in all renewable fuels – ethanol, biodiesel.  The real big opportunity for this country is sustainable aviation fuel.  We’re not going to have battery operated commercial flights flying across our oceans anytime soon. Decades and decades of liquid fuels are going to be required for a growing demand for aviation around the world. And the absolute best place to deliver sustainable aviation fuels is going to come from the heartland of America.

It has the potential to double the size of the ethanol industry. It increases the value of the farmer’s crops and increases the value of their land. That increases the opportunity for all the suppliers that sell them seed, fertilizer, everything – all that helps grow communities across the Midwest. That raises the revenue that pays for schools and healthcare and pays whatever. When we can lift the economy through expanding an opportunity like ethanol, then everybody else benefits as well.

This is an area where we have got to focus on innovation, that’s what’s driven America forward, not on regulation, and it’s a great example.

Fentanyl – An out-of-control border that is ignored by the White House while killer drugs like fentanyl infiltrate our communities makes no sense.  110,000 families in 2022 lost a son, a daughter, a mother, a father, a sister, or brother to overdoses – and we’re doing nothing about the border? That makes no sense.

Foreign Policy – We need to recognize the real threats to America and strengthen our national security. Growing up in a small town you learn quickly the enemy isn’t each other.  Our enemies aren’t our neighbors down the street. Our enemies are countries that want to see our way of life destroyed.  In a country built on neighbors helping neighbors we have become a country of neighbors fighting neighbors. We should all be fighting to unite the country against our common enemies like China, Russia, Iran, North Korea and the drug cartels.

Government Administration – The government itself is one of the most inefficient operations, because in many cases, government doesn’t have competition. If you’re the only place, say, to get a driver’s license, well then you don’t have to be good or fast or convenient. I’ve seen you can take out all kinds of costs out of government. The first year we were there, we cut $1.7 billion of the North Dakota State budget, out of a $6 billion budget. We cut it by 1.7 billion the first year and everything kept running on time and services got better. So, this idea that government has to grow and grow and grow – that’s only true if you don’t apply all the all the new approaches, and processes, and technology that every business has had to apply.

LGBTQ – The states, not the federal government, should be the ones to decide about gender affirming care.

Regulation – Innovation, that’s always been the driver of America.  Innovation over regulation. Innovation over regulation is how you solve the challenges we face today.  Regulation looks backwards.  Innovation looks towards the future.  When I was in high school we were told two things were absolutely certain about our future: the world is going to run out of food, and the world is going to run out of energy. However today we live in a world of abundance because of American innovation. Innovation has paved the way for a better life for all Americans. The potential and the possibility of the coming breakthroughs in software, and biotech, and energy, and healthcare can continue this trend but due to over regulation that brighter future for Americans is now at risk.  Let’s get back to common sense. Let’s eliminate red tape, get inflation under control, cut taxes, reduce the cost of living, and help every American realize their fullest potential.

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